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There is no attempt to differentiate the DM of the destroyer hull numbers from the DM (Dragaminas) names of the Minesweepers, as hull numbers are only used for purposes of visual recognition of friendly ships; seamen are expected to recognize that the minesweeper DM-16 is different from the DM-44 Temerario. (At the present time, the number series do not overlap.)

Standard procedure in the Armada de Chile favors placing sisterships together in squadrons whenever possible. The standard Destroyer Squadron is made up of two Destroyer Flotillas. The ranking officer of the four-ship Flotilla is designated the Flotilla Commander, and exercises control over his four-ship element. The Squadron is commanded by a senior Capitan de Navio or full Comodoro, who flies his flag on the lead ship of the first destroyer flotilla.

Current practice is to order destroyers in four or eight-ship strong "flights". Each flight is preferably ordered in the same year from the same yard. This practice has been followed with the newly-built Eyzaguirre and Frey class destroyers, which form the Second and Sixth Destroyer Squadrons respectively. The secondhand Atlantean Alphabet-class destroyer escorts, purchased and refitted in eight-ship groups, form the Fifth, Ninth, and Tenth Destroyer Squadrons, in much the same manner.

As most of the ships procured before 1935 were not acquired under this practice, many of these ships are grouped with non-similar vessels. The First Destroyer Squadron is composed of two different types: six Thompson class destroyers and two Condell-class destroyers. In this unusual case, the Condell-class destroyers, being larger and equipped with squadron command facilities, function as the flotilla flagships.

Index of Classes and Vessels

Heavy Destroyers (DG)Angamos-class Heavy Destroyers
- Angamos (DG-16): Laid down at Talcahuano July 1940, completed August 1941.
- Iquique (DG-17): Laid down at Talcahuano October 1940, completed November 1941.
- Punta Gruesa (DG-18): Laid down at Talcahuano July 1941, planned for completion August 1942.
- Casma (DG-19): Laid down at Talcahuano October 1941, completed November 1942.
- Papudo (DG-20): Laid down at Talcahuano January 1942, completed February 1943.
- Chipana (DG-21): Laid down at Talcahuano April 1942, completed May 1943.
- Talcahuano (DG-22): Laid down at Talcahuano July 1942, completed July 1943.
- Abtao (DG-23): Laid down at Talcahuano October 1942, completed October 1943.

Bolados-class Destroyer Escorts
- Bolados (DL-15): Laid down at Talcahuano January 1942, completed November 1942.
- Téllez (DL-16): Laid down at Talcahuano April 1942, completed February 1943.
- Bravo (DL-17): Laid down at Talcahuano July 1942, completed May 1943.
- Machado (DL-18): Laid down at Talcahuano October 1942, completed August 1943.
- Díaz (DL-19): Laid down at Talcahuano January 1943, completed November 1943.
- Troncoso (DL-20): Laid down at Talcahuano April 1943, completed February 1944.
- Litton (DL-21): Laid down at Talcahuano July 1943, completed May 1944.
- Salinas (DL-22): Laid down at Talcahuano October 1943, completed August 1944.

Comments and Notes:
The eight destroyers of the Capitan Eyzaguirre class were first ordered as part of the 1936 Naval Bill. To save time in getting construction underway, the design of the Atlantean "K"-class destroyer was purchased and placed into production, with only minor changes. The Eyzaguirres were in many respects lighter versions of the Almirante Zero-class heavy destroyers. The newer ships, however, had only deck mounts rather than full hoist mounts like the Zeros. As a result, the 130mm guns aboard Eyzaguirre did not quite equal the rate of fire of the older ships, and the hoist mounts were reintroduced on all following destroyers. In all other respects, however, the Eyzaguirres had good overall performance.

Capitan Frey-class Light Destroyer

Capitan Frey class, Chilean Corvette laid down 1937
These eight ships were originally intended to be "light destroyers". After several years of operation, the Armada determined that the Freys were too slow and too lightly-armed for frontline duties, but most of all, they were some of the worst seaboats in the Navy. This resulted in their posting in Arica, where the problem is less acute. Strategically, their role was the escort of coastal convoys for protection against submarines and surface raiders.

Over the course of 1943 and 1944, the class was rebuilt as dedicated fast antisubmarine frigates, equipping them with radar and updated sonar. This resulted in the ships losing their aft 110mm mount (the Armada feels 2x110mm is more than sufficient to fight any submarine). Although informally re-classified as "corvettes" in standard parlance, the ships retained their 'DL' hull markings and numbers.

Temerario-class destroyer

Drawing by Alvama, thanks Alvama! Sim by Earl822.

Temerario-class, Chilean Destroyer laid down 1922 (Engine 1941)
The twelve Temerarios were acquired in great haste from Nordmark during the Peruvian War, when the Chilean Navy urgently needed more destroyers. They turned out to be an excellent purchase, as they've got decent enough size, speed, and armament. In 1941, a refit program began to bring the ships up to a fairly modern standard.

Comments and Notes:
The Temerario-class, formerly the Nordish 22-class destroyers, were purchased in late 1937 but not delivered until after the Peruvian War was settled. The ships were sorted out into two six-ship squadrons, with Temerario, Aleatorio, Magnífico, Unánime, Valeroso, and Estratégico replacing the lost ships of the 4th Destroyer Squadron, and Cobrizo, Concordante, Meritorio, Llameante, Sabedor, and Rápido forming the new 7th Destroyer Squadron.

In a break from tradition, the ships of the class were not named after naval heroes.

Battle-class, Chilean Destroyer Leader laid down 1940
The Battle-class (unofficially sometimes called the Angamos-class) was an outgrowth of the Chilean Navy's harsh experience at the Battle of Ilo, where four large Peruvian destroyers led by the Independencia wiped out a division of much smaller Chilean "light destroyers". This experience shattered the Chilean Navy's opinion of small surface escorts and led to a massive upswing in the size of Chilean destroyers designed postwar. Simultaneously, the Armada felt the converted "flak cruisers" Astraea and Tierra del Fuego provided excellent service during the war, and the Naval Design Board proposed new-built design.

Due to budgetary concerns - the Magallanes-class "light cruisers" were growing and eating up increased portions of the 1940 budget - the Navy factions decided to forge a compromise with the Battle-class, building a hybrid of the "heavy destroyer" and the "flak cruiser". This led inadvertently to a secondary argument over how to classify the ships: the Battles were unarmoured and clearly smaller than most light cruisers, while they substantially outgunned and outmassed most destroyers. The Armada finally settled on calling them "destroyer leaders" (although this was a misnomer as they operated together, rather than as flagships for flotillas). In a nod to the counter-arguments, however, the Battles received hull numbers in sequence with cruisers, and carried the designation "CLD" for "Light Cruiser, Dual Role".

The Battles were one of the first ships in the Chilean Navy to use the CODAS (combined diesel and steam) power arrangement. This arrangement used a pair of Austral-licensed B&W maritime diesels for economical cruising up to approximately sixteen knots, and two steam turbines to make "dash speeds" up to thirty-four knots. The diesels also provided enough electricity to operate the increasing quantities of electrical systems installed aboard Chilean warships, such as dradis. Although there was some uncertainty in the Armada regarding the reliability of maritime diesels, the B&Ws proved to be more reliable in operation than regular steam plants.

Ships in Class:
- Angamos (CLD-16): Laid down at Talcahuano July 1940, completed August 1941.
- Iquique (CLD-17): Laid down at Talcahuano October 1940, completed November 1941.
- Punta Gruesa (CLD-18): Laid down at Talcahuano July 1941, planned for completion August 1942.
- Casma (CLD-19): Laid down at Talcahuano October 1941, completed November 1942.
- Papudo (CLD-20): Laid down at Talcahuano January 1942, completed February 1943.
- Chipana (CLD-21): Laid down at Talcahuano April 1942, completed May 1943.
- Talcahuano (CLD-22): Laid down at Talcahuano July 1942, completed July 1943.
- Abtao (CLD-23): Laid down at Talcahuano October 1942, completed October 1943.

Notes:
Some debate and confusion in the Armada de Chile about how to classify these ships. They have a heavy destroyer's gun, torpedo and ASW armament and a cruiser's machinery set and hull. They have received cruiser hull numbers but will be classified as a destroyer for officer assignments. The designations "corvette", "frigate", "esploratori", "scout cruiser", "contradestroyer", "destroyer leader", "superdestroyer" and "assault frigate" have all been discussed, with "destroyer leader" and "frigate" becoming standard use.

Ships in Class:
- Bolados: Laid down at Talcahuano January 1942, completed November 1942.
- Téllez: Laid down at Talcahuano April 1942, completed February 1943.
- Bravo: Laid down at Talcahuano July 1942, completed May 1943.
- Machado: Laid down at Talcahuano October 1942, completed August 1943.
- Díaz: Laid down at Valparaiso January 1943, completed November 1943.
- Troncoso: Laid down at Valparaiso April 1943, completed February 1944.
- Litton: Laid down at Valparaiso July 1943, completed May 1944.
- Salinas: Laid down at Valparaiso October 1943, completed August 1944.

Almirante Williams-class, Chilean Destroyer laid down 1944
These two ships are designed to serve as the destroyer-leaders to round out the 5th Destroyer Squadron, composed of the ex-German Voluntario-class destroyers. They may form the basis for a further Chilean destroyer class.